Friday, August 15, 2014

The Federal Government has opened its humanitarian refugee program to Iraqi Christians and Yazidis in response to the crisis in Iraq.

Under Australia's annual program, there are 13,750 places, but more than 4,000 visas are set aside to refugees who are "most in need of resettlement" due to desperate circumstances.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the Federal Government is "deeply concerned" by the ongoing crisis in Iraq and has now listed Iraqi Christians and Yazidis as eligible for Special Humanitarian Visas.

A spokeswoman says more than 1,000 places were provided last year to to people and families affected by the Syrian conflict.

Treasurer Joe Hockey says there is a humanitarian crisis and Australia needs to do its part.What do you think of the Federal Government's decision to offer humanitarian visas to Iraqi Christians and Yazidis?

"If we do not act now then it will be genocide on the scale that we haven't seen in the world for a long period of time. It is always the case that evil has its way when good people do nothing," he told ABC NewsRadio. "We have to stop the systemic slaughter of people wherever it might be in the world."

However, Mr Marles says the 13,750 places in Australia's annual humanitarian intake is too low and it should be returned to Labor's target of 20,000.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wants an additional 5,000 humanitarian places for Iraq introduced immediately. "We need to be doing everything we can to help in the humanitarian effort. Those who are facing desperate and urgent persecution in Iraq and of course Syria," she said. "This is doable. It is right thing to do and it makes sense."

Meanwhile Prime Minister Tony Abbott has confirmed Australian forces have made their first air drop to Iraq's troubled Mount Sinjar region.

A statement from Mr Abbott's office says he visited the Australian base in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday night to witness personnel preparing for the mission.

An RAAF C-130J Hercules delivered 10 pallets of high energy biscuits and bottled water - enough for 3,700 people for 24 hours, according to the Prime Minister.

"Initial reports are that the drop was conducted successfully and the aircraft is returning to base," Mr Abbott said in the statement.

"The aid drops will continue until the security of the Yazidi civilians is assured and they can safely move from Mount Sinjar."

WELFARE payments to more than a dozen suspected jihadists have been axed to stop Australian taxpayers’ money being used to finance terrorist outrages in Iraq and Syria.

But the Federal Government refuses to say whether an audit has guaranteed the cancellation of all welfare to Australians suspected of joining the Islamic State.

Wanted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, who was photographed executing Iraqi soldiers and whose young son was photographed holding a soldier’s severed head, received a $383-a-week disability support pension for several months. It lapsed after he left Australia on his brother’s passport.

An estimated 150 Australians have travelled to Iraqi and Syrian war zones.

“The Abbott Government has already cancelled welfare payments for a number of individuals who are overseas,” a spokesman for Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews told the Herald Sun.

“The Abbott Government is committed to ensuring Australians engaged in terrorist activities are not receiving taxpayer-funded payments.”

Yesterday Australia assigned two Hercules C-130 aircraft to drop food to 30,000 Yazidi Iraqis facing the threat of genocide in the Sinjar mountains. And Prime Minister Tony Abbott would not rule out further military action in Iraq by Australian forces. “Australia should do what it can to protect people from potential genocide,” Mr Abbott said.

The “darkening” terrorist and humanitarian situation in Iraq and its ramifications for Australia was the Government’s highest priority, he said. “We all know that the murderous hordes of ISIL — now the Islamic State — are on the march in northern Iraq,” he said. “What happens in Syria and Iraq doesn’t happen in isolation. What happens in these countries does have ramifications in Australia.”

Mr Abbott’s office had previously vowed to investigate options to cease the international portability of welfare payments for people suspected by security agencies of joining militant or terrorist ranks.

An estimated 150 Australians have travelled to the Iraqi and Syrian war zones, about 60 of whom are thought to be on the front line.

It is understood a significant number were receiving unemployment, disability or family payments while at the same time being members of the Islamic State or the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front.

The Government is now considering further measures to stop welfare payments to militants engaged in foreign conflicts, including Iraq and Syria.

That may include red-flagging payments as part of a Customs revamp requiring people travelling to conflict zones to justify their journey.

Security analysts say it is not uncommon for Islamic fundamentalists in Australia, who often have large families, to not hold down full-time jobs and to be receiving a range of welfare benefits.

“We often drop the ball, where government departments don’t speak to each other,” the Monash University Global Terrorism Research Centre’s Greg Barton said.

Prof Barton said there was no formal research on how widespread social welfare payments to extremists were.

But extremists receiving them typically considered them as a way to take advantage of governments and which allows them to commit to their fundamentalist cause.

“We don’t know the scale of the problem, but these are the sort of things we should be following up on,” he said.

As part of Australia’s de-radicalisation program, Prof Barton said understanding extremists’ reliance on welfare was part of early intervention.

Mr Abbott said the horrifying picture of a seven-year-old boy, understood to be Sharrouf’s son, holding a severed head, was an abomination.

“One of the images that has seared itself into the consciousness, not just of Australians but of people everywhere, is the photograph that was published on the internet and subsequently in newspapers around the world of a seven-year-old Australian, born and bred, in Syria, waving around a severed head as if it were a show bag at the Easter Show,” Mr Abbott said.

“This is absolutely hideous. It is absolutely gruesome and it indicates the mentality of the people who are fighting with Islamic State and the other terrorist groups in the Middle East.

“It is absolutely essential that we do whatever we reasonably can to ensure that the Australian community is safe from people who have been radicalised, militarised, brutalised by the experience of engaging in terrorist activity in the Middle East.”

THE state's coordinator-general has approved Indian firm Adani's 300km rail line, linking the Galilee Basin with the Abbot Point coal terminal on the Great Barrier Reef.

But Australia Institute analyst Mark Ogge says the massive project will drive down global coal prices and could potentially cause the closure of Surat and Bowen Basin coal mines.

"This has all the signs of an economic train wreck for the state," Mr Ogge warned. "If you are a farmer, tourist operator, manufacturer or coal miner other than in the Galilee basin, today's approval is almost certainly bad news for you."

Greenpeace's Ben Pearson was disappointed that the railway, planned to transport more than 100 million tonnes of coal per year, had been given the state's nod. "It's very bad news for landowners along the route and it is very bad news for Australians who care about the climate and care about our Great Barrier Reef," he told AAP. "We certainly haven't given up on stopping federal approval of the rail line."

But Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche congratulated Adani and described the rail and mine project as a pioneer plan.

Premier Campbell Newman said the project would be giving back to the state for at least 50-60 years.

But he's asked the coordinator-general to be mindful of impacts on landholders because local member and government MP Vaughan Johnson has concerns about the route. "Vaughan is quite rightly being the voice of his constituents," the premier said.

"I have asked him (the coordinator-general) to be very mindful on the ground. We'll do our best to mitigate those impacts."

Federal government approval, required for the project to go ahead, is due by September 30.

In a briliant flash of Leftist logic, Labor MP Richard Marles says that that terrorism isn’t a Muslim issue because the Oklahoma bomber was a Christian (He wasn't).

I tried to find some acts of terrorism committed by those of us of Anglo-Saxon heritage.

I realise you said we were also guilty of these atrocities, so I searched and searched but I could only find ones committed in an Islamic context. I'm terrible at researching.

So perhaps you could help me out here with some Anglo-Saxon events because it would be good if I had a complete list and not just Islamic ones... it really does make last month's list look a bit unbalanced.

List of Terror Attacks For the Past 30 Days only

Date Country City Killed Injured Description

2014.08.06 Syria Damascus 16 79 Two children are among sixteen civilians killed when an Islamist brigade sends shells into their neighborhood.2014.08.06 Iraq Sadr City 31 34 Thirty-one people at a Shiite shopping center are reduced to pulp by Sunni bombers.2014.08.05 Afghanistan Uruzgan 7 0 A Taliban in police uniform drugs and murders seven Afghan cops.2014.08.05 Pakistan Liaquatabad 2 0 Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat gunmen open fire on a Shiite-owned salon, killing an uncle and his nephew.2014.08.04 Pakistan Karachi 1 0 The 65-year-old principal of a Christian school is gunned down in a targeted attack.2014.08.04 Iraq Deir al-Zor 15 120 The Islamic State sends rockets into three non-compliant villages, killing fifteen civilians.2014.08.04 Israel Jerusalem 1 6 An Arab rams a bus and mows over a rabbi with a tractor.2014.08.03 Egypt Sheikh Zuweid 1 4 A 6-year-old boy bleeds to death after being hit with a rocket fired by religious hardliners.2014.08.03 Somalia Mogadishu 3 7 Three elderly female street cleaners are dissembled by an Islamist bomb.2014.08.03 Nigeria Kaduna 1 17 Muslims fire into a Catholic church, killing a guard and injuring several worshippers.2014.08.02 Iraq Kirkuk 1 0 Activists behead a citizen who refuses to swear allegiance to the Islamic State.2014.08.02 Bangladesh Rangpur 1 0 A religious minority is beaten to death by a Muslim gang.2014.08.01 Iraq Sadr City 9 21 A Sunni car bomb along a busy street in a Shiite district claims the lives of nine innocents.2014.07.31 Lebanon Tripoli 1 7 A civilian is killed when Sunni radicals toss a bomb under a bridge.2014.07.30 Somalia Hosingow 1 0 A mother of two is shot to death for refusing to wear the hijab.2014.07.30 Iraq Sadr City 16 28 Sunnis detonate a car bomb amid restaurants and shops populated by Shia, laying out at least sixteen.2014.07.30 Nigeria Kano 6 6 A female suicide bomber detonates at a university, killing student volunteers.2014.07.30 China Kashgar 1 0 A pro-government imam is stabbed to death outside his mosque by religious radicals.2014.07.30 Pakistan Quetta 2 0 Two Hazara Shias are gunned down in a targeted sectarian attack.2014.07.30 Iraq Baqubah 15 0 Fifteen Sunni civilians are captured and executed by Shia militia.2014.07.30 Iraq Anbar 6 6 A brutal Mujahid car bomb claims the lives of six people.2014.07.29 Libya Benghazi 30 81 Thirty people are killed when Islamist fighters overrun a military base.2014.07.29 Nigeria Dogo Tebo 11 37 A suicide bomber sends eleven worshippers at a rival mosque straight to Allah.2014.07.29 Afghanistan Kandahar 2 1 Two people are assassinated by a suicide bomber who hid the explosives in his turban.2014.07.29 Iraq Tikrit 200 0 The Islamic State releases a video showing the mass execution of hundreds of Shiite men and boys.2014.07.29 Syria Raqqa 35 0 ISIS posts thirty-five more heads in the town square.2014.07.29 Pakistan Lower Dir 6 0 A half-dozen people inside are killed when Taliban militants assault a house.2014.07.29 Bangladesh Sylhet 1 100 One person is beaten to death during a riot sparked by a non-fasting person attending Eid prayers.2014.07.29 Nigeria Anguwar Bolawa 2 0 A second suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque leaves two dead.2014.07.29 Pakistan Charsadda 2 1 Fundamentalists are suspected of shooting two off-duty policemen to death.2014.07.29 Libya Benghazi 3 0 Three civilians are killed when an Islamic militia rocket hits their house.2014.07.28 Pal. Auth. Gaza 10 46 Nine children are among ten killed when a Hamas rocket falls short.2014.07.28 Nigeria Katarko 8 12 Pro-Sharia militants throw explosives into homes and shoot those trying to flee.2014.07.28 Pakistan Gujranwala 4 8 Two young girls are among four members of an Ahmadi religious minority family burned alive after an angry mob sets fire to their home over alleged 'blasphemy'.2014.07.28 Israel Nahal Oz 5 0 Hamas terrorists tunnel into Israel and murder five soldiers.2014.07.28 Philippines Talipao 23 11 Women and six children are among twenty-three machine-gunned point-blank by Abu Sayyaf.2014.07.28 Nigeria Kano 0 6 A Fedayeen suicide bomber blows herself up at a shopping mall.2014.07.28 Nigeria Kano 3 8 A female suicide bomber detonates at a gas station killing three other women lining up to buy kerosene.2014.07.28 Iraq Baghdad 3 0 Three women are handcuffed and shot in the head by Mujahideen.2014.07.28 Israel Eshkol 4 9 Four civilians die from a Hamas rocket.2014.07.28 Iraq Baghdad 14 0 The bodies of fourteen male victims of sectarian killings are found bound and tortured.2014.07.28 Iraq Baghdad 6 21 Mujahideen bombs claim the lives of six Iraqis.2014.07.28 Egypt Sheikh Zuwaid 1 10 A 9-year-old girl dies from shrapnel produced by an Islamist rocket.2014.07.28 Pal. Auth. Shejaiya 20 0 Twenty Palestinian protesters are executed by Hamas for protesting Hamas.2014.07.28 Thailand Narathiwat 1 0 A villager on foot loses his life to suspected Muslim gunmen.2014.07.28 China Xinjiang 37 13 Thirty-seven (mostly ethnic Han) civilians are slaughtered by an Islamic mob armed with axes and knives.2014.07.28 Pakistan Jamrud 1 0 A local soldier is kidnapped and beheaded by religious radicals.2014.07.27 Nigeria Kano 5 8 Muslim extremists throw a bomb into a Catholic church, killing five worshippers.2014.07.27 Iraq Taji 6 0 An entire Shiite family of six is found beheaded in their home by Religion of Peace rivals.2014.07.27 Pakistan Jamrud 1 0 Members of a religious group behead a former member.2014.07.27 Afghanistan Spinboldak 2 0 A child is among two people taken out by Shahid suicide bombers at their home.2014.07.27 Thailand Pattani 1 7 A young girl is reduced to pulp by an Muslim 'insurgent' bomb.2014.07.27 Yemen Abyan 2 11 Two others are killed by suicide bombers.2014.07.27 Israel Border 1 0 A soldier is killed by a Hamas rocket fired into Israel.2014.07.27 Pakistan Karachi 2 1 A 6-year-old girl is among the casualties of an Islamist shooting attack.2014.07.27 Nigeria Hong 30 0 Thirty villagers are slaughtered randomly by Boko Haram gunmen.2014.07.27 Nigeria Shafa 2 0 Two men are shot to death by Boko Haram.2014.07.27 Pakistan Mirokas 1 0 Militants fighting for Sharia kill a bus driver with a roadside bomb.2014.07.27 Iraq Jurf al-Sakhar 3 4 Islamic State terrorists attack a police station and kill three officers.2014.07.27 Nigeria Kano 0 5 A female suicide bomber detonates along a city street.2014.07.27 Iraq Tuz Khurmato 2 4 Two women are pulled into pieces by a Jihad car bomb at an outdoor market.2014.07.27 Cameroon Kolofata 10 1 Boko Haram kill ten people and kidnap at least one woman.2014.07.26 Thailand Betong 2 52 Muslim terrorists set off a car bomb in front of a hotel that claims the lives of two young people.2014.07.26 India Saharanpur 2 19 Two Sikhs are murdered in a violent Muslim attack.2014.07.26 Pakistan Karachi 5 0 Five Shiites are shot to death by Sunni radicals in three separate attacks.2014.07.26 Egypt Rafah 4 5 Four children are wiped out by a rocket fired by Islamic militia.2014.07.26 Nigeria Hawul 2 0 Two Christians are beheaded by Boko Haram.2014.07.26 Afghanistan Marjah 4 4 Four civilians are disassembled by a Taliban bomb.2014.07.26 Pakistan Gulshan-e-Iqbal 1 3 A prayer leader is murdered outside his mosque by Religion of Peace rivals.2014.07.26 India Sopore 1 4 One person dies when a Muslim extremist tosses a grenade into the street.2014.07.26 Syria Azaz 4 4 Islamists set off a bomb in a vegetable market, killing children and the elderly.2014.07.26 Pakistan Zubaida 1 1 A teenage girl is murdered by her conservative brother on suspicion that she is having sex.2014.07.26 Libya Benghazi 34 87 Three dozen people soldiers are killed during a sustained assault by Ansar al-Sharia.2014.07.26 Iraq Taji 6 0 Six security personnel are captured, handcuffed and shot in the head by Sunni extremists.2014.07.26 Libya Tripoli 23 0 A rocket fired by suspected Islamic militia hits a house and kills twenty-three laborers.2014.07.26 Tunisia Kef 2 6 Armed fundamentalists ambush and kill two local soldiers.2014.07.25 Yemen Baida 5 2 al-Qaeda members fire heavy machine-guns into a police checkpoint, exterminating five officers.2014.07.25 Egypt Sheikh Zuwaid 2 0 Two army officers are shot to death by suspected Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.2014.07.25 Afghanistan Ghor 15 0 Three women and a child are among fifteen Shiites singled out and pulled off a bus by dedicated Sunnis, who bound their hands and then execute them.2014.07.25 India Sopore 1 0 A local cop is gunned down by Lashkar-e-Toiba militants.2014.07.25 Syria Raqqa 50 0 At least fifty Syrian soldiers are captured and beheaded by Islamic State militants, who then post the heads on a long row of fence posts.2014.07.25 Iraq Kirkuk 4 15 Four Shiites are liquidated by a targeted bomb attack.2014.07.25 Iraq Tikrit 18 0 Eighteen suspected victims of the Islamic State are found bound and executed.2014.07.25 Pakistan Dera Ismail Khan 2 0 Religious radicals kill two meat shop employees with a bomb.2014.07.25 Cameroon Bargaram 4 0 Four Cameroon soldiers are killed during a cross-border raid by Boko Haram.2014.07.24 Afghanistan Takhar 6 26 A Fedayeen suicide bomber on a motorcycle slaughters six people at a packed market.2014.07.24 Iraq Taji 61 19 A massive suicide attack on a convoy transporting prisoners leaves sixty dead.2014.07.24 Afghanistan Nangarhar 2 1 A Shahid suicide bomber takes the lives of two local cops.2014.07.24 Nigeria Garubulu 15 0 Islamists enter a village and calmly machine-gun fifteen residents.2014.07.24 Afghanistan Herat 2 0 Two female aid workers for a Christian charity are shot to death by Muslim radicals.2014.07.24 Iraq Baghdad 21 33 A double car-bombing rips through a commercial district, snuffing out the lives of over twenty innocents.2014.07.24 Syria Raqqa 19 0 Nineteen people are reported dead following a double suicide attack.2014.07.24 Yemen Lahj 1 0 al-Qaeda gunmen pick off a man outside his home.2014.07.24 Nigeria Kano 1 8 Boko Haram is suspected of a bombing that leaves one dead in a bus park.2014.07.23 Iraq Sharqat 1 0 A female politician is murdered by IS fundamentalists.2014.07.23 Somalia Mogadishu 1 0 Fundamentalists gun down a female singer turned lawmaker.2014.07.23 Israel Eshkol 1 0 A civilian is killed by a Hamas mortar round.2014.07.23 Iraq Jalawla 6 0 Islamic State gunmen execute six people for being related to a policeman.2014.07.23 Iraq Samarra 8 0 Eight Iraqi soldiers are kidnapped and executed by Islamic radicals.2014.07.23 Nigeria Kawo 50 37 At least fifty people at a market are incinerated by a suicide bus bombing, including woman and children.2014.07.23 Pakistan Karachi 1 0 A 60-year-old Shiite man is gunned down by Sunnis while buying fruit.2014.07.23 Nigeria Kaduna 35 14 Three dozen people bleed to death following a suicide bomb attack on a rival cleric and his followers.2014.07.23 Pakistan Karachi 1 2 Gunmen attack a vehicle carrying a Shia family, killing the mother.2014.07.23 Pakistan Badaber 1 2 Tehreek-e-Taliban members attack the home of a judge, killing a guard.2014.07.22 Libya Benghazi 5 4 A twin suicide bombing leaves five others dead.2014.07.22 Philippines North Cotabato 1 0 One other person is killed when Bangsamoro Islamic gunmen attack a convoy.2014.07.22 Afghanistan Kabul 4 11 A Taliban suicide bomber murders four people outside an airport.2014.07.22 Iraq Nahrawan 5 13 Sunni bombers take down five patrons at a Shiite market.2014.07.22 Iraq Kirkuk 6 0 ISIL kidnap and murder six taxi drivers.2014.07.22 Iraq Baghdad 33 50 A Holy Warrior detonates a suicide shrapnel bomb at a packed entrance to a Shiite neighborhood, taking the lives of three dozen innocents.2014.07.22 Iraq Diyala 5 0 Five civilians are captured and publicly executed by the Islamic State.2014.07.21 Afghanistan Lashkar Gah 2 9 A Shahid suicide bomber takes out two locals.2014.07.21 Iraq Baqubah 3 4 Islamic State send mortar shells into a family home, killing three members.2014.07.21 Libya Benghazi 16 81 Sixteen people are killed during an attack by Ansar al-Sharia.2014.07.20 Iraq Mahmoudiya 11 31 Eleven are killed when Sunnis rain down mortar shells on a Shiite religious procession.2014.07.20 Pakistan Hayatabad 2 0 Two security guards at an industrial complex are murdered by Muslim radicals.2014.07.20 Afghanistan Peshawar 2 0 Two guards at a market are gunned down point-blank by Taliban.2014.07.20 Iraq Abu Ghraib 5 0 Five Shiites are taken out by a Sunni roadside blast.2014.07.20 Libya Benghazi 47 120 A week-long assault by Islamic militia on an airport leaves forty-seven dead.2014.07.20 Libya Benghazi 1 0 A foreign worker is singled out and beheaded for not being Muslim.2014.07.20 Iraq Mosul 1 0 A university professor is murdered by Islamists for speaking out on behalf of abused Christians.2014.07.19 Iraq Abu Dashir 9 21 Nine people lose their lives to a vicious Shahid suicide bombing in a Shia neighborhood.2014.07.19 Israel Dimona 1 3 An Israeli civilian is killed by a Hamas rocket that also severely injures children.2014.07.19 Iraq Khazimiyah 3 15 Terrorists set off a car bomb near a bus stop that leaves three dead.2014.07.19 Israel Ein Hashlosha 2 2 Palestinian terrorists tunnel into Israel and shoot two soldiers to death.2014.07.19 Syria Raqqa 1 0 A second woman is stoned to death by IS, this time after her new husband discovers that she is not a virgin.2014.07.19 Nigeria Damboa 100 0 Boko Haram return to the site of an earlier massacre and machine-gun over one-hundred more villagers before raising their black flag of Islam.2014.07.19 China Memetjan Jumaq 1 1 Islamic extremists enter a home and stab a woman to death.2014.07.19 Egypt al-Farafrah 22 4 Twenty-two local soldiers are incinerated by an RPG attack blamed on fundamentalists.2014.07.19 Nigeria Gwoza 6 0 Radicals tie the hands of six villagers and then slit their throats while shouting praises to Allah.2014.07.19 Iraq Baghdad 15 42 Three Islamic State car bombs produced fifteen dead Iraqis.2014.07.18 Syria Tabaqa 1 0 A young woman is stoned to death in the public square for adultery.2014.07.18 Pakistan Peshawar 1 3 Muslim terrorists kill a police officer with a bomb.2014.07.18 Afghanistan Laghman 1 14 A civilian is sectionalized by a Taliban bomb blast.2014.07.18 Pakistan Mansehra 2 6 A prayer leader is among two murdered by Religion of Peace rivals.2014.07.18 Kenya Witu 7 5 Seven people on a bus are machine-gunned by al-Shabaab Islamists.2014.07.18 Iraq Balad 6 0 A half-dozen Iraqis are picked apart with ISIS mortars.2014.07.18 Nigeria Damboa 21 0 Religion of Peace proponents massacre over twenty villagers with automatic weapons and explosives.2014.07.18 Pakistan Jamrud 8 0 Eight security personnel die when pro-Sharia gunmen open fire on their traffic checkpoint.2014.07.18 Pakistan Peshawar 4 0 Four people are killed when the Taliban open fire on a car.2014.07.17 Syria Homs 270 0 Islamic State militants attack an oil field and execute nearly three hundred civilians and guards.2014.07.17 Thailand Narathiwat 1 0 A 49-year-old Buddhist is cut down by Muslim gunmen.2014.07.17 Iraq Nineveh 13 0 Thirteen Yezidi religious minorities are kidnapped and executed by Islamic State.2014.07.17 Iraq Baghdad 4 12 An Islamic State suicide bomber takes out four people near a Shia mosque.2014.07.17 Iraq Taji 6 18 A half-dozen Iraqis are pulled into pieces by a Shahid suicide bomber along a crowded street.2014.07.17 Iraq Sinjar 10 0 Ten Shabak religious minorities are kidnapped and executed by Islamic State.2014.07.17 Pakistan Hangu 6 3 Suspected Sunni terrorists set off a roadside blast that claims the lives of six innocents.2014.07.17 Iraq Muqdadiya 10 0 Ten Iraqis are kidnapped and killed by Islamic State.2014.07.17 Iraq Tikrit 3 4 At least three others are killed during a massive Fedayeen suicide assault on an Iraqi camp.2014.07.17 Pakistan Ghundi 8 3 Eight security personnel lose their lives to a Taliban attack.2014.07.17 Pakistan Ganj Chowk 1 0 A Shia businessman is murdered by sectarian Jihadis.2014.07.16 Iraq Mosul 1 0 A video surfaces of a handcuffed woman strangled to death by an Islamic State member.2014.07.16 Nigeria Sabon Gari 7 0 Seven family members are murdered by Boko Haram while trying to bury victims of a previous attack.2014.07.16 Tunisia Chaambi 15 23 Ansar al-Sharia militants slaughter fifteen local soldiers as they are sitting down to eat.2014.07.16 Iraq Ramadi 5 10 Five Iraqis lose their lives to a Fedayeen suicide bomber.2014.07.16 Syria Damascus 4 20 Sunnis send mortar rounds into a marketplace, killing four patrons.2014.07.16 Pakistan Sharifabad 1 2 A shopkeeper is murdered by Sunnis for being Shia.2014.07.16 Yemen Baida 2 1 al-Qaeda militants machine-gun two off-duty cops.2014.07.15 Pakistan Mir Ali 5 8 Five local soldiers are cut down by armed religious radicals.2014.07.15 Afghanistan Urgun 89 42 A Shahid suicide bomber at a market sends eighty-nine souls to Allah.2014.07.15 Israel Erez 1 1 A 37-year-old distributing food dies from a Hamas rocket.2014.07.15 Nigeria Dille 38 20 Pro-caliphate militants slaughter over three dozen residents and burn churches in a raid on a Christian farming village.2014.07.15 Afghanistan Kabul 2 5 A Taliban bomb takes out two minivan passengers.2014.07.15 Iraq Sadr City 14 54 Fourteen people are killed when Sunnis bomb a Shiite market.2014.07.15 Nigeria Huyim 9 0 Nine Christians are slain by Boko Haram.2014.07.15 Iraq Madain 9 0 Nine people are reported dead following a Mujahideen bomb blast.2014.07.15 Nigeria Sabon Gari 20 0 Boko Haram massacre twenty villagers.2014.07.15 Pakistan Hangu 1 0 A 40-year-old Shia teacher is shot to death by Religion of Peace rivals.2014.07.15 Iraq Tikrit 12 28 Two suicide car bombers murder a dozen Iraqis.2014.07.14 Israel Be'er Sheva 0 3 Two children are among three seriously injured by a Hamas rocket.2014.07.14 Nigeria Zamadede 11 0 A mother and her two children are among eleven hacked to death by Fulani terrorists.2014.07.14 Libya Benghazi 1 6 Islamic militia fire a rocket into an airport, killing a guard.2014.07.14 Iraq Baghdad 4 12 Sunnis set off a bomb in a Shiite district, killing four.2014.07.14 India Lalmonirhat 0 4 Jamaat-e-Islami attack a Hindu family in their home.2014.07.14 Iraq Baqubah 7 0 Seven people are kidnapped, tied up and executed by sectarian rivals.2014.07.14 Iraq Saadiya 12 0 Twelve tribesmen are detained and summarily executed by Islamic State.2014.07.14 Iraq Muqdadiya 8 0 Eight young men are executed by Islamic State members.2014.07.14 Mali Moustarat 1 7 A suicide bomber kills a French peacekeeper.2014.07.14 Nigeria Borno 27 0 Over two dozen Christians are massacred by Islamists, in an attack on three churches.2014.07.14 Nigeria Dille 1 4 A pastor is murdered by Boko Haram. His wife and three young children are kidnapped.2014.07.14 Iraq Baghdad 3 8 A Jihad bomb blast near a car dealership ends the lives of three innocents.2014.07.13 Iraq Baghdad 6 7 Two bombs, one near a crowded market, leave six dead.2014.07.13 Afghanistan Herat 11 4 A suicide attack is among several that leave eleven Afghans dead.2014.07.13 Thailand Narathiwat 1 0 A 62-year-old Buddhist woman is picked off by Muslim gunmen.2014.07.13 Iraq Duluiya 12 0 A dozen Iraqis lose their lives to an ISIS assault.2014.07.13 Iraq Mosul 10 0 Ten Shabak religious minorities are reported kidnapped and executed.2014.07.13 Iraq Ishaqi 4 0 Four members of a family are disassembled by Mujahid bombers.2014.07.13 Libya Benghzi 26 11 Over two dozen people are killed in an attack claimed by Islamic militia.2014.07.13 Syria al-Qaim 4 0 Four locals are publicly executed by pro-Sharia militants.2014.07.13 Iraq Mosul 2 1 IS bombers take out two women.2014.07.13 Egypt al-Arish 8 25 Two children are among eight innocents taken out by an Islamist rocket.2014.07.12 Malaysia Mabul Island 1 1 Abu Sayyaf members kill a guard by firing randomly into a resort.2014.07.12 Afghanistan Pajwai 8 2 Five women are among eight civilians sent to Allah by Taliban bombers.2014.07.12 Afghanistan Jalalabad 2 4 Two people are taken out by a suspected suicide car bomber.2014.07.12 Iraq Zayouna 33 18 Fundamentalists enter a brothel and massacre over thirty people, including twenty-eight women.2014.07.12 Pakistan Karachi 1 0 Sectarian Jihadis shoot a man to death at his pump shot.2014.07.12 Algeria Sidi Bel Abbes 7 0 Religion of Peace activists blow up seven security personnel on patrol.2014.07.12 Pakistan Karachi 1 0 Religion of Peace rivals assassinate a seminary teacher.2014.07.12 Pakistan Mamond 3 2 Three border guards are gunned down by Sunni extremists.2014.07.11 Iraq Anbar 11 24 Eleven Iraqis are killed by Islamic State militants.2014.07.11 Pakistan Abbottabad 2 0 A Shia father and son are shot to death by dedicated Sunnis.2014.07.11 Iraq Kirkuk 28 25 A Shahid suicide car bombing ends the lives of twenty-eight innocents, including women and children.2014.07.11 Israel Ashdod 0 3 Three people are seriously injured when Hamas sends a rocket into a gas station.2014.07.11 Syria Rahjan 18 0 At least eighteen people are killed during an al-Nusra attack that begins with a suicide bombing.2014.07.11 Yemen Hardramawt 1 0 al-Qaeda fundamentalists shoot a man to death in his home for 'practicing black magic'.2014.07.11 Iraq Shurqat 3 0 Islamic State members murder three civilians and put their bodies on display.2014.07.11 Kenya Mombasa 1 0 A financier is killed in a war between rival mosques.2014.07.11 Cameroon Bonderie 2 1 Two locals are slain by Boko Haram gunmen.2014.07.10 Pakistan Karachi 1 0 A shopkeeper is murdered by Sunnis for being Shia.2014.07.10 Iraq Samarrah 4 2 Four Iraqis are taken apart by a Mujahid roadside bomb.2014.07.10 Afghanistan Kohsan 6 3 The Taliban murder six employees of a de-mining company.2014.07.10 Afghanistan Ghor 7 0 Seven Afghans bleed to death following a Taliban roadside bomb.2014.07.10 Thailand Yala 3 0 Militant Muslims ambush and kill off-duty three police officers.2014.07.09 Thailand Yala 2 0 Two Buddhist nursing students are gunned down at a market by suspected Muslim terrorists.2014.07.09 Dagestan Kizilyurt 1 0 Suspected religious extremists tie a man up and stab him to death.2014.07.09 Iraq Mansuriyah 9 38 Nine soldiers are killed in an ambush by Islamic State militants.2014.07.09 Afghanistan Kandahar 9 9 A woman is among nine killed during a massive Fedayeen suicide assault.2014.07.09 Syria Khatab 14 0 Seven women and are among fourteen villagers massacred by Sunni 'rebels'.2014.07.09 Egypt al-Arish 1 4 Fundamentalists set off a roadside bomb that leaves one dead.2014.07.09 China Xinjiang 6 1 Six ethnic Han farmers are stabbed to death by Muslim terrorists.2014.07.09 Iraq Babil 2 13 Two Jihadi car bombs kill two Iraqis.2014.07.09 Iraq Khamissiya 53 0 Fifty-three victims of a mass sectarian execution are found dumped in a Shiite town.2014.07.09 Pakista Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3 4 Three people lose their lives to suspected Taliban.2014.07.09 Dagestan Khasavyurt 1 0 A police officer is gunned down by Islamists.2014.07.09 Pakistan Shakardara 1 0 A member of a peace committee is shot to death by activists fighting for an Islamic state.2014.07.08 Somalia Mogadishu 14 4 al-Shabaab militants attack the presidential compound, killing over a dozen guards.2014.07.08 Iraq Samarrah 8 9 Two Mujahid bombs produce eight dead Iraqis.2014.07.08 Afghanistan Parwan 16 14 A Taliban suicide bombing at a medical clinic leaves sixteen dead, including eleven students.2014.07.08 Pakistan Achini 3 1 Lashkar-e-Islam gunmen open fire on a group of villagers outside their residences, killing three.2014.07.08 CAR Bambari 17 14 At least seventeen people are killed when Muslims attack a Catholic church sheltering civilians.2014.07.07 Afghanistan Herat 5 1 Five police officers are murdered by the Taliban.2014.07.07 Iraq Baghdad 7 17 A Fedayeen suicide bomber in a packed Shiite district sends seven souls to Allah.2014.07.07 Yemen Abyan 2 5 An al-Qaeda attack leaves two dead and five injured.2014.07.07 Iraq al-Meshag 3 10 Islamic State militants shoot three villagers to death.2014.07.07 Iraq Adhaim 4 0 Four Iraqis are murdered by Jihadis.2014.07.07 Iraq Tikrit 1 0 A civilian is kidnapped and executed by ISIL.2014.07.07 Kenya Wajir 1 6 One person bleeds to death after suspected al-Shabaab throw a grenade into a restaurant.2014.07.07 Kenya Lamu 2 0 Two Christians are killed in their own church by Muslim radicals.2014.07.07 Sudan South Kordofan 10 0 Ten Christians are targeted and murdered by the Islamic government, including four children and an elderly woman. Their church was also destroyed.2014.07.07 Thailand Yala 1 1 Muslim militants ambush a security patrol, killing one member.2014.07.07 Afghanistan Kunduz 5 4 Five children are disassembled when the Taliban send an RPG into their home.*Phew, that was long, but if you could just add a few Anglo-Saxon atrocities I would be really grateful, you know, just to even it up a bit.

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Background

Postings from Brisbane, Australia by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) -- former member of the Australia-Soviet Friendship Society, former anarcho-capitalist and former member of the British Conservative party.

Most academics are lockstep Leftists so readers do sometimes doubt that I have the qualifications mentioned above. Photocopies of my academic and military certificates are however all viewable here

For overseas readers: The "ALP" is the Australian Labor Party -- Australia's major Leftist party. The "Liberal" party is Australia's major conservative political party.

In most Australian States there are two conservative political parties, the city-based Liberal party and the rural-based National party. But in Queensland those two parties are amalgamated as the LNP.

Again for overseas readers: Like the USA, Germany and India, Australia has State governments as well as the Federal government. So it may be useful to know the usual abbreviations for the Australian States: QLD (Queensland), NSW (New South Wales), WA (Western Australia), VIC (Victoria), TAS (Tasmania), SA (South Australia).

For American readers: A "pensioner" is a retired person living on Social Security

"Digger" is an honorific term for an Australian soldier

Another lesson in Australian: When an Australian calls someone a "big-noter", he is saying that the person is a chronic and rather pathetic seeker of admiration -- as in someone who often pulls out "big notes" (e.g. $100.00 bills) to pay for things, thus endeavouring to create the impression that he is rich. The term describes the mentality rather than the actual behavior with money and it aptly describes many Leftists. When they purport to show "compassion" by advocating things that cost themselves nothing (e.g. advocating more taxes on "the rich" to help "the poor"), an Australian might say that the Leftist is "big-noting himself". There is an example of the usage here. The term conveys contempt. There is a wise description of Australians generally here

Another bit of Australian: Any bad writing or messy anything was once often described as being "like a pakapoo ticket". In origin this phrase refers to a ticket written with Chinese characters - and thus inscrutably confusing to Western eyes. These tickets were part of a Chinese gambling game called "pakapoo".

Two of my ancestors were convicts so my family has been in Australia for a long time. As well as that, all four of my grandparents were born in the State where I was born and still live: Queensland. And I am even a member of the world's second-most condemned minority: WASPs (the most condemned is of course the Jews -- which may be why I tend to like Jews). So I think I am as Australian as you can get. I certainly feel that way. I like all things that are iconically Australian: meat pies, Vegemite, Henry Lawson etc. I particularly pride myself on my familiarity with the great Australian slanguage. I draw the line at Iced Vo-Vos and betting on the neddies, however. So if I cannot comment insightfully on Australian affairs, who could?

My son Joe

On all my blogs, I express my view of what is important primarily by the readings that I select for posting. I do however on occasions add personal comments in italicized form at the beginning of an article.

I am rather pleased to report that I am a lifelong conservative. Out of intellectual curiosity, I did in my youth join organizations from right across the political spectrum so I am certainly not closed-minded and am very familiar with the full spectrum of political thinking. Nonetheless, I did not have to undergo the lurch from Left to Right that so many people undergo. At age 13 I used my pocket-money to subscribe to the "Reader's Digest" -- the main conservative organ available in small town Australia of the 1950s. I have learnt much since but am pleased and amused to note that history has since confirmed most of what I thought at that early age.

I imagine that the the RD is still sending mailouts to my 1950s address!

I am an army man. Although my service in the Australian army was chiefly noted for its un-notability, I DID join voluntarily in the Vietnam era, I DID reach the rank of Sergeant, and I DID volunteer for a posting in Vietnam. So I think I may be forgiven for saying something that most army men think but which most don't say because they think it is too obvious: The profession of arms is the noblest profession of all because it is the only profession where you offer to lay down your life in performing your duties. Our men fought so that people could say and think what they like but I myself always treat military men with great respect -- respect which in my view is simply their due.

The kneejerk response of the Green/Left to people who challenge them is to say that the challenger is in the pay of "Big Oil", "Big Business", "Big Pharma", "Exxon-Mobil", "The Pioneer Fund" or some other entity that they see, in their childish way, as a boogeyman. So I think it might be useful for me to point out that I have NEVER received one cent from anybody by way of support for what I write. As a retired person, I live entirely on my own investments. I do not work for anybody and I am not beholden to anybody. And I have NO investments in oil companies or mining companies

Although I have been an atheist for all my adult life, I have no hesitation in saying that the single book which has influenced me most is the New Testament. And my Scripture blog will show that I know whereof I speak.

The Rt. Rev. Phil Case (Moderator of the Presbyterian church in Queensland) is a Pharisee, a hypocrite, an abomination and a "whited sepulchre".

English-born Australian novellist, Patrick White was a great favourite in literary circles. He even won a Nobel prize. But I and many others I have spoken to find his novels very turgid and boring. Despite my interest in history, I could only get through about a third of his historical novel Voss before I gave up. So why has he been so popular in literary circles? Easy. He was a miserable old Leftist coot, and, incidentally, a homosexual. And literary people are mostly Leftists with similar levels of anger and alienation from mainstream society. They enjoy his jaundiced outlook, his dissatisfaction, rage and anger.

Would you believe that there once was a politician whose nickname was "Honest"? "Honest" Frank Nicklin M.M. was a war hero, a banana farmer and later the conservative Premier of my home State of Queensland in the '60s. He was even popular with the bureaucracy and gave the State a remarkably tranquil 10 years during his time in office. Sad that there are so few like him.

Revered Labour Party leader Gough Whitlam was a very erudite man so he cannot have been unaware of the similarities of his famous phrase “the Party, the platform, the people” with an earlier slogan: "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer". It's basically the same slogan in reverse order.

Australia's original inhabitants were a race of pygmies, some of whom survived into modern times in the mountainous regions of the Atherton tableland in far North Queensland. See also here. Below is a picture of one of them taken in 2007, when she was 105 years old and 3'7" tall

Julia Gillard, a failed feminist flop. She was given the job of Prime Minister of Australia but her feminist preaching was so unpopular that she was booted out of the job by her own Leftist party. Her signature "achievements" were the carbon tax and the mining tax, both of which were repealed by the next government.

The "White Australia Policy: "The Immigration Restriction Act was not about white supremacy, racism, or the belief that whites were higher up the evolutionary tree than the coloured races. Rather, it was designed to STOP the racist exploitation of non-whites (all of whom would have been illiterate peasants practicing religions and cultures anathema to progressive democracy) being conscripted into a life of semi-slavery in a coolie-worked plantation economy for the benefit of the absolute monarchs, hereditary aristocracy and the super-wealthy companies and share-holders of the northern hemisphere.

A great little kid

In November 2007, a four-year-old boy was found playing in a croc-infested Territory creek after sneaking off pig hunting alone with four dogs and a puppy. The toddler was found five-and-a-half hours after he set off from his parents' house playing in a creek with the puppy. Amazingly, Daniel Woditj also swam two creeks known to be inhabited by crocs during his adventurous romp. Mr Knight said that after walking for several kilometres, Daniel came to a creek and swam across it. Four of his dogs "bailed up" at the creek but the youngster continued on undaunted with his puppy to a second creek. Mr Knight said Daniel swam the second croc-infested creek and walked on for several more kilometres. "Captain is a hard bushman and Daniel is following in his footsteps. They breed them tough out bush."

A great Australian: His eminence George Pell. Pictured in devout company before his elevation to Rome

There are also two blogspot blogs which record what I think are my main recent articles here and here. Similar content can be more conveniently accessed via my subject-indexed list of short articles here or here (I rarely write long articles these days)

NOTE: The archives provided by blogspot below are rather inconvenient. They break each month up into small bits. If you want to scan whole months at a time, the backup archives will suit better. See here or here

About Me

I am a 5'10" tall, jocular former university teacher aged 70 at the time of writing in early 2014 who still has a fair bit of hair. I am Australian born of working class origins and British ancestry. My doctorate is in psychology but I taught mainly sociology (Research Methods) in my 14 years as a university teacher. In High Schools I taught economics. I have taught in both traditional and "progressive" (low discipline) High Schools. My main interests are blogging, classical music, history, the stockmarket, current affairs and languages. I have been married four times to four fine women with whom I am still on amicable terms. I have one son born in 1987. I am totally non-sporting and have never owned a firearm. My brother has enough guns for the whole family. I did however enjoy my weapons training in the Army.
Fuller biographical notes here